Chapter 291: Konoha Year 67
After years of training, Sasuke and Naruto successfully entered the third stage of natural energy training—the Constant Sage Mode—and even gained some unexpected benefits along the way.
Both families were extremely pleased with the results.
Minato and Kushina could clearly sense the tailed beast aura leaking from Naruto's special state. It felt completely different from the chakra of the red tailed beast cloak.
Gone were the explosive destruction and hatred. It no longer caused the jinchūriki to lose control. Instead, it radiated a sense of peace and warmth born from complete mutual understanding. Naruto and the Nine-Tails' chakra flowed freely between them in both directions, with no distinction between the two.
This was something neither the First Nine-Tails jinchūriki, Uzumaki Mito, nor the Second, Uzumaki Kushina, had ever achieved.
In the past, if they wanted to use the Nine-Tails' power, they had to forcibly take it. The Nine-Tails, in turn, constantly mixed negative emotions into its chakra, trying to corrupt the jinchūriki's mind.
Now, however, Naruto and the Nine-Tails had opened their hearts to one another. The Nine-Tails willingly provided its chakra for Naruto's use, and their chakra had reached complete resonance.
This was what a perfect jinchūriki truly looked like.
Fugaku wasn't jealous in the slightest, because Sasuke had also obtained a unique Mangekyō Sharingan, and its power was still slowly growing stronger.
He was greatly looking forward to seeing where it would lead.
It wasn't until today, after witnessing Naruto's transformation, that Sasuke's family finally figured out who the true Nine-Tails jinchūriki was.
However, including Shisui, nobody said a word about it.
They simply pretended they hadn't noticed.
The two families left the dōjō completely satisfied.
Before they departed, Makoto instructed them: "Starting tomorrow, Team Seven won't be taking any missions for the time being. Report here every day and focus on training."
"You represent yin and yang respectively. Training together will allow both of you to improve more quickly."
"Only by achieving a balance between yin and yang can you continue exploring higher realms. Otherwise, you'll end up like the Sasuke and Naruto from the other world, whose strength has practically stopped advancing."
"Understood, Sensei." ×2
All three members of Team Seven had already been promoted to chūnin and now operated as a fully independent squad. Makoto had long since stopped accompanying them as their jōnin instructor.
After they left, Tenten sighed.
"I'm so jealous of those two. Their strength suddenly improved by so much."
"Tenten," Makoto said, "there's no need to envy anyone else. You've already received the best thing possible. As long as you keep working hard, I believe you won't lose to anyone."
"Huh? The best thing possible?"
"That's right. Haven't you noticed that your affinity for white natural energy is the highest out of everyone here?"
"Now that you mention it... I guess it is."
"Exactly. So go home and get some sleep."
"Alright then. See you later, Sensei."
Once everyone had left, the dōjō became quiet again.
Yūgao still hadn't recovered from the shock of seeing the Sage of Six Paths.
However, her train of thought took an unexpected turn.
"Hey, Makoto. That Indra and Asura you mentioned—they're the Sage of Six Paths' sons, right?"
"Of course. You heard that part too."
"Then why could he leave descendants, but you can't?"
Makoto stroked his chin.
"Well, he was an Ōtsutsuki. Maybe their bodies are simply built differently from ours."
"I don't care. You have to solve this problem."
"I think it might be because my life level is too high. If we want to solve it, you'll have to work harder. Hurry up and reach Constant Sage Mode. The two of you have been slacking off these past few years."
"Is that really the reason?" Yūgao asked suspiciously.
Honoka sighed.
"As if it were that easy. It feels like we're still a long way off. We don't have any reincarnated ancestors helping us speed things up."
"Exactly!" Yūgao agreed. "Didn't you say Tenten received the best thing possible? Give us one too."
"There aren't any left," Makoto replied helplessly. "What Tenten absorbed was the very first strand of secondary natural energy I ever converted. It had special properties, and she happened to absorb it by accident. Where am I supposed to find another one now?"
"That said, I do have something else that can help speed up your natural energy training. The effect isn't very obvious, though."
"What is it?" Honoka asked.
"If you had something like that, why didn't you bring it out sooner?" Yūgao demanded.
Makoto looked innocent.
"I already gave it to you. Quite often, in fact."
"Usually at night, when we were doing that..."
...
The ninja world had been surprisingly peaceful over the past few years.
The development of the Five Great Shinobi Villages remained uneven, however. Judging by the patterns of history, it probably wouldn't be long before another great ninja war broke out.
But now, Konoha's strength had become so overwhelming that no one dared make a reckless move.
Ever since Konoha launched the Five-Village Joint Chūnin Exams, the event had gradually become a tradition. After that, it was held every July, with the Five Great Shinobi Villages taking turns as hosts.
While the festival boosted the economy of each village and strengthened communication between them, its true purpose was to gauge their rivals' future potential through the abilities of their genin.
Unfortunately, every single time, Konoha's genin achieved an almost overwhelming victory.
As a result, the anxiety of the other four great villages continued to grow.
But no matter how anxious they were, they could only endure it.
Even the Akatsuki, which had already convened and decided on its next course of action, remained inactive for the time being. They seemed to be quietly accumulating strength while waiting for the right moment to enter the stage.
Amid this peaceful calm, time entered Konoha Year 67.
For the New Year, the Higashino family chose to celebrate at the dōjō.
During the traditional New Year's feast, Higashino Megumi once again performed her annual ritual—staring deathly at her son and his two wives.
Higashino Jirō, on the other hand, had long since come to terms with the situation. These days, he frequently repeated the phrase, "Some things can't be forced."
The couple were both approaching fifty, but because of their natural energy training, neither looked particularly old. Megumi, in particular, still appeared quite youthful thanks to the effects of the Yin Seal.
Whenever this happened, Honoka and Yūgao felt utterly wronged and could only lower their heads and focus on eating.
Makoto sighed helplessly.
"Mom, this isn't something that can be rushed."
"How can I not be in a hurry? Naruto and the others are practically adults already. Hayate is already a father. Even Yūgao's cousin has a girlfriend now. How much longer do you expect me to wait?"
"Don't worry. We're working on it."
"Working on it, my ass. Am I supposed to wait until I'm seventy or eighty before I get to hold a grandchild? Let me tell you, by then I won't have the energy to help you raise the kid."
"You won't, Mom. I guarantee you'll still look as young then as you do now. Besides, instead of pressuring me, why don't you pressure Yamato?"
Yamato blinked.
"What does this have to do with me?"
Makoto pointed at him.
"Because you're a grown-ass man who still doesn't have a girlfriend. Does that make any sense?"
"Exactly!" Megumi immediately agreed. "Yamato, that useless son of mine is hopeless. Now all of my hopes are resting on you."
Makoto silently gave himself a thumbs-up.
Target successfully redirected.
"Mom," Yamato said helplessly, "this isn't something that can be rushed."
"Oh, so instead of learning anything useful, you learned his excuses? You're already twenty-six. In all these years, haven't you met a single girl you're close to? If not, I'll find someone to introduce you to."
"So tell me. What kind of girl do you like? Even someone from the Uchiha or Hyūga clans would be fine. The Higashino family is more than worthy these days."
Terrified that Megumi might actually drag some random woman in front of him, Yamato could only compromise.
"Just give me a little more time. Two years... no, one year. I promise I'll get a girlfriend."
Megumi immediately smiled.
"You said that yourself. I didn't force you. Since you've made that promise, we'll be waiting for good news."
Yamato: "..."
A storm instantly erupted inside his mind as he frantically reviewed every single woman he knew who was both single and reasonably attractive to him.
Then he made a tragic discovery.
The women around his age were all married.
The unmarried ones were mostly men.
'Am I supposed to follow Kakashi-san and Guy-senpai and start dating men?'
Sure enough, waiting too long left very few good options.
If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have spent all these years working so hard.
After much consideration, Yamato finally decided that if things really came down to it, he would try pursuing Anko.
She might be two years older than him, but she had remained single all this time, had a great figure, and the two of them knew each other well.
If Anko wasn't interested...
Then he'd have no choice but to start targeting younger girls.
After temporarily settling the Yamato issue, Megumi turned her gaze back toward her eldest son.
Makoto: "..."
His little brother really was too honest.
Completely unreliable.
After the New Year, life returned to normal, and time continued to pass.
It almost seemed as though Konoha—and the entire ninja world—would remain peaceful forever.
However, in July of Konoha Year 67, an urgent letter from Sunagakure shattered that tranquility.